Track: Leavenworth boys have “...best meet we've had in years.”

Behind five gold medals, the Leavenworth boys’ track team places second at Topeka Relays; Raiders pile up medals at McLouth; Lansing runners show off in Mill Valley; Saint Mary competes at Emporia State

Leavenworth boys' track coach Willis Willmeth summed up his team's performance perfectly at the Topeka Relays in one sentence.

“That was the best meet we've had in years,” he said.

And for good reason. In dominating fashion, the Pioneers captured 10 medals, five of which were gold, to come within a half-point of first this past weekend. Emporia nudged

Leavenworth's 120 points with its 120.5.

“Everybody had pretty good nights,” Willmeth said. “We did not have one bad event and it was by far the best performance we've put together as a team in quite awhile.”

LV was led by John Warren, who took first in the 300 hurdles, 110 hurdles and triple jump. He also was second in the long jump.

Willie Morrison was first in the discus, as well as third in the shot put event, which saw Da'Quan Blake rake in the gold. C.J. Baker came in second during the pole vault while the squad's 4x800 relay recorded a third place finish.

Isaiah Ross and Jared Belardo also snatched bronze medals in the high and long jump respectively.

The Leavenworth girls were sixth at the relays. Rachel Blackburn secured second in the javelin and Jasmine Swanagan won third in the shot put.

The squad was first in the 4x800 relay and second in the 4x400 event.

Leavenworth's next meet is Friday at Shawnee Mission West starting at 3:30 p.m.

Raiders pile up medals at McLouth

In what many aspects was a preview to its approaching league meet, the Immaculata track team competed in the McLouth meet this weekend.

And if Friday was a sign of things to come, the Raiders may have some exciting times up ahead. Both Raider squads earned top five team finishes while picking up seven individual medals.

“With 14 teams participating and 11 from the DVL, this was a good meet to see where we stand,” Imac coach Terry Jordan said. “It seemed to be raining medals for us in McLouth after we picked up seven.”

For the Lady Raiders, Grace Parker earned third in the 100 meters and fourth as a part of the 4x100 relay, which included Sarah O'Neil, Lainey Bell and Elena Nine.

O'Neil also recorded a silver medal in the 100 hurdles and third in the 300 meters. Bell was third in the 400, fourth in the 100.

The Immaculata boys watched Drew Sachen get third in the 100, sixth in the 200, fourth in the long jump and fourth as a member of the 4x100 relay. That relay squad included Danny Boisson, Mark Hernandez and Cory Holcomb.

Boisson won first during the 400 meters as well, while Mark Hernandez was second in the high jump. Ryan Hill captured fifth in the 110 hurdles and Raphael Tate nailed down fifth in the 3,200.

Page 2 of 2 - “So many good things happened for us during this meet,” Jordan said. “We felt as a staff that we competed quite well against some of the better teams in our league.”

Imac will compete at Perry-LeCompton tonight at 4 p.m.

Lansing runners show off at Mill Valley

It was a quality meet for the runners of the Lansing track and field team.

Over the weekend, the squad participated in the Mill Valley Invite where Lion runners collected 12 medals overall.

Leading the way was Nashia Baker's first in the 1,600 meters and second in the 800, and Jimmy Bormolini's gold in the 200 and silver in the 100.

Both squad's 4x400 relay teams won first while the 4x100 boys' grouping secured the top spot and the girls' 4x100 relay came in second.

During the 1,600, Malika Baker won second and then third in the 800. Chris Brown was fourth during the 3,200.

In field events, Kija Cammock was third at the shot put, Danielle Harvey second in the discus and Victoria Strehlow won second during the high jump. Lindsay Davis nailed down silver in the triple jump.

Darius Mathis and Justin Andrews each placed second in their respective events, the high and triple jumps.

Lansing's next meet is 3:30 p.m. Friday at Tonganoxie.

Saint Mary competes at Emporia State

On Saturday, the Saint Mary track and field team competed at Emporia State University.

Caroline Suarez recorded the Lady Spires top finish with a 11th place mark in the triple jump. Angelia Meyer and Carloyn Ellis turned in personal bests in the 1,500 and 800 meter races.

The men's team was led by Aaron Potter, who came in 14th in the 800. Izzy Parra (5,000), Russell Brown (5,000), Cory Waites (400), Jacob McCurry (200), Ricardo Cortez (5,000) and Sean Miller (triple jump) all secured personal bests in their respective events.